Hurricane Sandy Gave Tyshawn Taylor A Week He'll Never Forget

By Michael Scotto | Nov 8, 2012 | 3:49PM

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Michael Scotto, SNYNets.com

Tyshawn Taylor

NEW YORK — The start of Tyshawn Taylor’s rookie season was unlike that of a typical NBA rookie. Taylor is a native of Hoboken, New Jersey and was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy during the storm and in the aftermath that followed.

“My home’s good, there’s no more flooding,” Taylor said before the Nets’ first game of the Brooklyn era. “We still don’t have power in the city of Hoboken, but my apartment luckily does. There’s just no hot water right now. I’m in a hotel in the city right now so I’m not going to go home for a while.”

Hurricane Sandy did damage to many parts of Northern New Jersey including East Rutherford—home of the Nets practice facility—and Hoboken, Taylor's hometown. As a result, the Nets have held practices at Barclays Center, but on Oct. 31, the day after the storm hit, Taylor was stranded in Hoboken and couldn't make it to Brooklyn.

Eventually, Taylor was able to get out but traveling the eight miles from Hoboken to Barclays Center was not an easy task. The road to practice remained a difficult journey and with severely limited mass transit options, Taylor was forced to drive on congested roads.

At the time, scores of gas stations in and around New York City were without electricity and, as a result, the city is still dealing with a very serious gas distribution problem. Though road conditions are improving, the immediate results were congested roads, delays and unsafe road conditions. Thousands of New Yorkers were trying to locate and successfully reach gas stations before their gas tanks hit “empty.”

“Gas is crazy right now,” said Taylor before the Nets Nov. 3 season opender against the Toronto Raptors. “I had to wait two hours and fifteen minutes for gas.”

Despite the hardships Hurricane Sandy caused to his hometown and family, Taylor remained excited for the start of his NBA career.

“As players, as fans, I think we’ve been waiting for the season to start to see what we’re going to bring as a team,” Taylor said while getting dressed in front of his locker. “With the hurricane, I think it’s just brings more anticipation to see how good we do and I think they’re really excited about it. We’re excited to play and perform for Brooklyn.”

Unfortunately for Taylor, he did not play in Brooklyn’s season opening victory against the Toronto Raptors, but he did make his debut when the Nets played the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 5.

The lack of playing time in the opener did not deter Taylor’s work ethic, though. He was on the court early before Brooklyn’s second game with coaches Mario Elie and Doug Overton. Taylor, Mirza Teletovic, Tornike Shengelia and Josh Childress all participated in a 3-on-3 scrimmage before the game. They each needed to be ready in the event they were called upon.

The extra work paid off as Taylor made his NBA debut and scored his first points in the Nets second game of the season where they lost to the Timberwolves.

Tyshawn Taylor drives past Jose Juan Barea in his NBA debut.

“I was just a little nervous,” said Taylor. “I think once you get up and down, or get a possession or two in, you just get back to being yourself and being comfortable and that’s exactly how I felt.”

Taylor has adjusted to his new role coming off the bench after playing a prominent role starting 127 out of a possible 146 games with the Kansas Jayhawks.

“I think that’s just part of my job, which is to stay ready,” said Taylor. “[Deron Williams] got two quick fouls so C.J. [Watson] had to play extended minutes in that first half. I just stood ready and when coach called my name I got in there and just did what he wanted me to, which is run the team and make easy plays.”

According to Taylor, much of the credit for his development this season will rest on conversations with Deron Williams and studying the tendencies of the two-time Olympic gold medalist.

“Me and Deron have been talking a lot and he’s just been schooling me,” said Taylor. “I just get the benefit of just watching him everyday and getting to go up against him everyday so that helps me even more than just him talking to me.”

Despite playing heavy minutes and being the face of the franchise, Williams has made it a point to talk with Taylor about the intricacies of the point guard position.

Taylor repeated Williams' instructions.

“Just see the floor and slow my pace down a little bit and just take what comes to me,” he said.

Tyshawn Taylor setting up the offense.

Part of taking what comes Taylor’s way will be open jumpers. The rookie is making sure that if opposing defenses go under screens or otherwise leave him open, he’ll be able to make them pay.

“I’m working on my mid-range jumper and my long-range jumper,” he said. “I think with this team we have a lot of scoring threats so I’ve just got to stay ready and if I get open shots I’ve got to knock them down. But I think my job when I get in the game is to run the team, play defense, and not turn over the ball.”

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Taylor and those in his hometown of Hoboken hope he can light up the court as the season progresses.

Like his hometown in the aftermath of Sandy, Taylor is a work in progress that needs a bit more time. But like his hometown in the aftermath of Sandy, Taylor is improving rapidly.

One day at a time.

Michael Scotto is an Analyst for SNYNets.com. Follow him on Twitter for the latest news from Brooklyn and the NBA: @MikeAScotto

NEW YORK (AP) Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Caris LeVert each scored 16 points, and the Brooklyn Nets overcame blowing a double-digit second-half lead and took advantage of a costly mistake by the Washington Wizards in the final seconds to pull out a 103-98 victory Tuesday night.

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Okafor finally gets new start he's been waiting for with Nets

Dec 12 | 1:26PM

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(Bill Streicher)

It was a dream come true for the Nets' newest addition, C Jahlil Okafor, when he heard of his trade to Brooklyn.

"I feel like I was dreaming," Okafor told The Post's Zach Braziller about when he heard of his move. "It finally happened, and I'm in a great city."

Okafor has had a tough time in his early NBA career since getting drafted No. 3 overall to the Sixers back in 2015. He made the NBA All-Rookie team in his rookie year after posting 17.5 points per game.

Tonight's game: Heat vs. Nets, 6 p.m.

Dec 9 | 4:00PM

The Brooklyn Nets successfully overcame the altitude of Mexico City to pull off their biggest comeback of the season.

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Nets' late defensive effort leads to 100-95 win over Thunder in Mexico

Dec 8 | 12:43AM

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(AP)

Just hours after the Nets' front office completed a favorable trade with the Philadelphia 76ers, the Nets took the floor in Mexico City and closed out a 100-95 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder thanks to a defensive effort which limited the Thunder to just 16 points in the fourth quarter.

Fighting high altitude and an unfamiliar arena, Caris LeVert scored a team-high 21 points off the bench as the Nets used some momentum out of the half to storm back and take down Russell Westbrook and co. Thursday night. LeVert also added 10 assists for the "home" team.

Nets acquire Jahlil Okafor, Nik Stauskas in trade with Sixers

Send Trevor Booker to Philadelphia

Dec 7 | 4:36PM

Okafor has played just 12.5 minutes this season as he was lost in the mix of a heavy Sixers frontcourt with Joel Embiid and Dario Saric getting most of the time down low. Stauskas has also faced a severe cut in playing time, seeing the floor for only 10 minutes this season with J.J. Redick coming over from the Clippers.

Okafor has seen his early three-year career plagued by some injuries as he hasn't played a full season. Last year, he averaged 11.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in 50 games. The 21-year-old will certainly help the Nets' big men by adding depth behind rookie C Jarrett Allen and Timofey Mozgov.

Booker, who has started six games for the Nets this season, is averaging 10.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 21.9 minutes per game.

The Nets are loving the heightened excitement in Mexico City as they prepare to face the Thunder on Thursday at 10 p.m.

It may just be another regular season game on the record, but Allen Crabbe describes the anticipation and coverage of the game as being playoff-like.

"We're excited," Crabbe told The Post's Brian Lewis. "It's a different atmosphere playing in the NBA Global Games. You look and you see all these media people, and it doesn't feel like we're in a regular game. It feels like we're in the playoffs or something. There's going to be excitement."

Caris LeVert scored a season-high 17 points, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 16 points and the Brooklyn Nets used a strong third quarter to grab momentum and beat the Atlanta Hawks 110-90 on Monday night.

Brooklyn, avenging Saturday's home loss to Atlanta, had everything working in its favor in the second half. It began the third trailing by one but went on a 17-0 run to go ahead 70-54 on DeMarre Carroll's 3-pointer. The lead swelled to 29 in the fourth as the Nets earned their largest win of the season.

Former Nets trainer: "Gerald Wallace drove me nuts"

Dec 2 | 3:28PM

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Brooklyn Nets' Gerald Wallace is shown yelling instructions court in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 in Minneapolis. The Nets won 91-83. (AP Photo/Jim Mone) (Jim Mone/AP)

Timmy Walsh was a trainer for the Nets from 2000 until 2016, and along the way he accrued some funny stories. He shared those stories with Stefan Bondy of NY Daily News.

Walsh specifically joked about former Net Gerald Wallace, saying he'd have to hide his uniform to keep him from playing injury.

This season, while still holding a losing record, the Nets are showing improvement at times and get their first crack at their ninth victory of the season Saturday afternoon when they host the Atlanta Hawks.

En route to a 20-62 record in the first season under coach Kenny Atkinson, the Nets (8-13) lost 33 times before getting their ninth win Jan. 20 at New Orleans. When the Nets scored 141 points in that game, it snapped an 11-game losing streak but also preceded a 16-game skid.

Since going 1-27 from Dec. 28-Feb. 25, Brooklyn is 19-26 and returns home coming off a 2-1 road trip. The Nets sandwiched wins at Memphis and Dallas around a loss in Houston.

The depleted Nets are coming off a 117-103 loss at Houston, a game that featured an NBA-record 89 3-point attempts. Brooklyn was without D'Angelo Russell, Allen Crabbe, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and DeMarre Carroll.

Nets can't stop Harden in 117-103 loss to Rockets

Nov 27 | 10:40PM

James Harden scored 20 of his 37 points in the first quarter to lead the Houston Rockets to a 117-103 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.

Harden added 10 rebounds and eight assists to guide the Rockets to their fifth straight win. When he took a break with 1:28 remaining in the first quarter, he was outscoring the Nets 20-17 by himself, not to mention four assists at that point. He was 5-for-5 from 3-point range in the first quarter and finished 8-for-13.

For the Nets, Isaiah Whitehead led scorers with 24 points off the bench. Spencer Dinwiddie had 14 points, Caris LeVert had 13 and Sean Kilpatrick added 12. Coming off of a 98-88 win in Memphis on Sunday night, Brooklyn has lost four of its last five.

Nov 27 | 5:38PM

The virus of complacency invaded the Houston Rockets on Saturday night, with their recent run of dominant play yielding a casual approach to a short-handed opponent that often fells excellent teams believing that a switch can be flipped when the mood or moment strikes.

D'Angelo Russell in no rush to return after arthroscopic surgery

Nov 27 | 10:49AM

D'Angelo Russell makes a pass with Damian Lillard guarding him in the Nets-Trail Blazers game on Friday night. (AP)

Nets PG D'Angelo Russell won't be rushing back on the court anytime soon as he recovers from arthroscopic surgery, per Newsday's Greg Logan

The Nov. 11 surgery was performed to remove loose bodies from Russell's left knee. The third-year point guard wants to make sure that he doesn't rush back, so he will take his time to make sure everything is feeling good.

"Honestly, I'm just trying to stay healthy and get as strong as I can before I get back out on the floor," Russell said. "It's definitely not something I want to rush, however that may go. I'm not really forcing anything, just doing what the trainers and stuff tell me day-in and day-out and go from there, see how I feel every day."

Joe Harris finished with 13 points for the Nets, who used a third-quarter spurt to put away the Grizzlies, who have lost eight straight.

Marc Gasol and Tyreke Evans scored 18 points apiece for Memphis, although Gasol did not play at all in the fourth quarter as a smaller Grizzlies lineup made a dent in Brooklyn's 19-point, second-half lead. Chandler Parsons scored 12, but did not play in the second half after tweaking his right knee.

Former Net Luis Scola, 37, tearing up Chinese league with new haircut

Nov 24 | 8:30PM

The last the NBA saw of Luis Scola was in a Nets jersey last season, where the Argentinian endured career lows in games played, minutes, points and rebounds. He scored just five points with four rebounds in 13 minutes per game in Brooklyn.

This season, Scola is having a rebirth in China: both in production and looks. On the court, Scola is scoring 28.8 points, on 60 percent shooting, with 14.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 35.6 minutes per game.

Scola had long rocked luscious jet-black hair behind a headband, but this season he has grown a beard, buzzed the sides of his head and is sporting a fashionable top-knot, or more commonly referred to as a man-bun.

NEW YORK (AP) Damian Lillard scored 34, Jusuf Nurkic added 29, and the Portland Trail Blazers rallied from a six-point deficit late in the fourth quarter to edge the Brooklyn Nets 127-125 on Friday. >> Read more

CLEVELAND (AP) LeBron James shook off a blow to the face and scored 23 points in the fourth quarter - including 18 straight for Cleveland - as the Cavaliers won their sixth straight, 119-109 over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night.

James needed stitches in the third quarter to close a gash above his lip that drew blood. He punched back at the Nets in the fourth and finished with 33 points. >> Read more

CLEVELAND -- Each time the Cleveland Cavaliers and Brooklyn Nets play each other this season, as they do Wednesday at Quicken Loans Arena, another element is in play.

The Cavs own the rights to Brooklyn's first-round draft pick in 2018, which Cleveland acquired from Boston as part of the Kyrie Irving trade.

The pick is highly valued because, the thinking goes, the Nets will be a lottery team. The Cavs could wind up with a top-five pick in a talent-rich draft.

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Nets 'frozen' first half was too much to come back from against Warriors

Nov 20 | 3:36PM

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(Anthony Gruppuso)

Despite their 118-111 loss to the Warriors, the Nets learned that they can compete with the best team in the league.

The Nets were down as much as 28 points in the third quarter, but managed to make a spirited comeback that saw them come within four of the Warriors with just over two minutes to play. However, the comeback was too little too late as the Nets slow start cost them in the end.

As for the reason behind the awful first half, head coach Kenny Atkinson isn't sure what it was except that it resulted in a lack of energy.

Nets' rally falls short in 118-111 loss to Warriors

Nov 19 | 8:53PM

Stephen Curry had season highs with 39 points and 11 rebounds, and the Golden State Warriors held on after he fouled out to beat the Brooklyn Nets 118-111 on Sunday night.

A night after erasing a 22-point halftime deficit in Philadelphia, the Warriors built a 22-point cushion after two quarters behind 22 points from Curry. Playing without Kevin Durant, they led by 28 in the third quarter but Brooklyn cut it all the way to four after Curry picked up his sixth foul with three minutes remaining.

Klay Thompson then scored seven of his 23 points in the final two minutes.

Tonight's game: Warriors at Nets, 6 p.m.

Nov 19 | 3:14PM

NEW YORK -- DeMarre Carroll knows the stands at Barclays Center will be filled even if a significant portion of the crowd is rooting for the visiting team.

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Dinwiddle drops 25 as Nets win, 118-107, at home

Nov 17 | 10:32PM

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(Andy Marlin)

NEW YORK (AP) Spencer Dinwiddie scored a career-high 25 points hours after D'Angelo Russell had knee surgery, and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Utah Jazz 118-107 on Friday night.

Allen Crabbe had 18 points and DeMarre Carroll added 17 for the Nets, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

The starting point guard role now belongs to Dinwiddie after Russell was hurt during Brooklyn's recent road trip. He had successful arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Friday with no timetable for a return. >> Read more

The Nets announced D'Angelo Russell underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Friday.

It is unknown what Russell's timetable for a return will be. He will miss the Nets' next game against the Jazz Friday due to a left knee contusion, the team has announced.

The 21-year-old exited Saturday night's game against the Jazz with the injury, where the initial prognosis expected him to miss several games. Without their leading scorer on Tuesday, the Nets fell to the Celtics 109-102.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Donovan Mitchell made the most of his opportunity in place of the injured Rudy Gobert.

Mitchell scored 26 points, including four in the final minute, to lead the Utah Jazz to a 114-106 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night.

"I didn't want to settle for the shots I can get any time I want," the rookie said. "I wanted to get to the basket and get in a groove. When you get to the basket, it opens up your outside shot and you can find guys."

SALT LAKE CITY -- Offensive struggles have reached a new low for Utah. No solution seems to be in sight amid a four-game losing streak compounded by uglier and uglier losses.

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Russell leads Nets to comeback win in Portland, 101-97

Nov 11 | 12:22AM

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D'Angelo Russell makes a pass with Damian Lillard guarding him in the Nets-Trail Blazers game on Friday night. (AP)

When a game is tight in crunch time in Portland, it's typically Damian Lillard time. But on Friday night, it was D'Angelo Russell time.

Russell scored 11 of the Nets' final 15 points in a comeback road win over the Trail Blazers, 101-97, on Friday night. Russell finished with 21 points and nine assists while Allen Crabbe put up 12 points against his former squad.

The Nets trailed by three with just over five minutes to go when Russell tied the game with a clutch three. From there, he helped Brooklyn overcome some late shots from Lillard to eke out the road victory.

Nets can't keep up with Nuggets in 112-104 loss on the road

Nov 7 | 11:03PM

The Nets' starters struggled to find their rhythm offensively during the team's 112-104 loss to the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center on Tuesday night. The loss sent Brooklyn to 4-7 on the season.

Tyler Zeller led the Nets with 21 points off the bench, to go along with five rebounds, one steal and one block. Caris LeVert added 13 more points off the pine. D'Angelo Russell led all starters with 12 points. Timofey Mozgov notched 11 points and six rebounds against his former team.

DENVER -- The Denver Nuggets got two much-needed days off after playing six games in nine nights. The upside was they were 4-2 in that stretch to get back to .500 at 5-5.

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D'Angelo Russell's fourth-quarter burst ends Nets' losing streak

Nov 7 | 3:15PM

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Nets PG D'Angelo Russell led the team's comeback in their 98-92 win Monday that broke a four-game losing streak.

The Nets had gotten out to an early lead, but eventually blew it when the Suns went up 75-74 in the fourth. However, Russell went on a tear that helped solidified not only a much-needed win to break their losing skid, but the Nets' first road win of the season.

"It wasn't the prettiest game ever played in the NBA. It was a lot of tugging and clawing, a lot of fouls, but we found a way," head coach Kenny Atkinson told The Post's Brian Lewis. "It was a good sign of growth for our team."

Nets rebound in Phoenix to beat Suns, 98-92

Nov 6 | 11:42PM

After suffering four consecutive losses, the Nets rebounded in the second game of their West Coast trip.

Joe Harris put up a season-high 18 points off the bench as the Nets beat the Suns in Phoenix, 98-92. D'Angelo Russell pumped in a game-high 23 points and nine assists while DeMarre Carroll added a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Nets fall to 3-5 after 124-112 loss to Lakers

Nov 4 | 12:59AM

Friday night marked the first time the Nets and Lakers faced each other since their big offseason trade involving D'Angelo Russell and Brook Lopez.

Russell scored 17 points in his return to Los Angeles, but the Nets fell to the Lakers, 124-112. Allen Crabbe led the Nets with 25 points off the bench, while Rondae Hollis-Jefferson contributed 21 points and four assists.

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets are benefiting from their offseason trade, and they will get their first chance to compare their acquired assets on Friday night at Staples Center.